North Korea vows to stand by Russia until ‘victory day’ is achieved in Ukraine

North Korea will support Russia until its victory in Ukraine, Pyongyang’s foreign minister said in Moscow on Friday, after the US warned that thousands of North Korean troops could be sent to fight in the conflict in Ukraine in the coming days .

North Korean leader Choe Son Hui was in Moscow as the West believes about 10,000 North Korean troops are training in Russia and about to take part in the more than two-year conflict on the Russian side.

US intelligence has said some of the troops have made their way to the Kursk border area, with Washington and Seoul warning North Korea to withdraw their forces.

“We will always resolutely support our Russian comrades until the day of victory,” Choe said in Moscow after talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

She said North Korea had no doubts about the “wise leadership” of President Vladimir Putin, who signed a mutual aid treaty with Pyongyang this summer and greatly boosted ties with the reclusive state.

Choe Son Hui has said that North Korea will support Russia until its victory in Ukraine

Her comments come after President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual assistance pact with Pyongyang this summer

Choe called Moscow’s more than two-year offensive in Ukraine a “holy battle.”

She also pledged that North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal, with Pyongyang widely suspected of wanting nuclear technology from Russia in return for military support.

Neither country has denied the reports of troop deployments, with Son Hui and Lavrov also not mentioning them in their statements after their talks.

Lavrov, however, praised the “very close ties” between the two countries’ “armies and special services.”

“This will also make it possible to achieve important security goals for our citizens and yours,” he added, without giving details.

Lavrov said Russia was “very grateful” for North Korea’s “principled attitude” towards Ukraine.

Russia’s Ukraine offensive, launched in February 2022, has severed ties with the West, while North Korea and Iran have emerged as Russia’s main backers, both believed to be supplying Moscow’s troops.

“I greatly appreciate today’s opportunity to talk honestly and comradely,” Lavrov said, using Soviet-style language.

Russia has dramatically tightened ties with its North Korean neighbor, with Moscow and Pyongyang now among the most sanctioned countries in the world.

It comes after a video emerged earlier this month allegedly showing North Korean soldiers in Russia

Kim Jong Un has reportedly sent 12,000 troops to support Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine

Lavrov said Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in July heralded a “new phase” in relations.

North Korea is already believed to have sent weapons to Moscow, but troops on the ground would mark a major escalation.

The US said on Thursday that no troops have been sent into the battle yet, but that this could happen “in the coming days.”

But Defense Secretary Llyod Austin said the 10,000 North Koreans expected to be on the way “will not come close to replacing the numbers the Russians have lost.”

He said the US will soon announce new military aid to Kiev.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday denounced his allies’ passivity towards North Korean forces and said he was surprised by China’s “silence”.

Kiev urged Western partners to “lift all restrictions” on firing long-range missiles at Russia after the “true escalation” with North Korea.

North Korean leader Choe Son Hui vowed in Moscow that the country will not abandon progress on its nuclear program and accused the West of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

This photo taken on October 2 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center L) inspecting a Korean People’s Army Special Operations Forces training base

She spoke a day after North Korea said it had fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent, a move rejected by the West.

“I assure you once again that our country will in no way change course when it comes to bringing its nuclear weapons in order,” she said.

“The security situation of our country is in a very dangerous and unstable state due to the machinations of the US and its satellites,” she said.

“The situation on the Korean Peninsula could become explosive at any time,” she added.

South Korea has said that North Korea’s engagement with Russia could escalate security threats on the Korean Peninsula, and that Pyongyang is likely to request Russian technology transfers to support its weapons programs.